Indonesia Fires National Nutrition Agency Chief, Launches Office Search Over Food Program Discipline Issues

Indonesian investigators from the Attorney General’s Office searched the National Nutrition Agency’s office building in Jakarta on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, locking out employees for the duration of the search. The search occurred one day after President Prabowo Subianto dismissed agency chief Dadan Hindayana on Tuesday evening and appointed his deputy, Nanik S. Deyang, to the post.

The free meals program, which the agency oversees, is intended to feed nearly 90 million children and pregnant women and is projected to cost $28 billion through 2029. The program formed a central campaign promise of President Prabowo Subianto and was designed both to reduce malnutrition and to purchase harvests from local farmers.

The initiative has drawn criticism over its expense and over documented cases of food poisoning among schoolchildren who consumed the meals.

Minister of the State Secretariat Prasetyo Hadi said some issues involved discipline in following standard operating procedures, while others concerned discipline in implementing governance, including maintaining food quality as required by the agency.

Prasetyo Hadi told reporters on Tuesday that the government remained committed to the program and that services to the public must not be disrupted in any way. Mochamad Jeffry, acting spokesperson for the Attorney General’s Office, said investigators were still conducting the search at the agency but did not disclose the nature of any case under review.

It was not immediately clear whether the search was connected to a criminal investigation. Security personnel were posted at the agency entrance during the search, according to photographs taken at the scene.